Big Tech condemn GCHQ proposal to listen in on encrypted chats

An international coalition of civic society organizations, security and policy experts and tech companies — including Apple, Google, Microsoft and WhatsApp — has penned a critical slap-down to a surveillance proposal made last year by the UK’s intelligence agency, warning it would undermine trust and security and threaten fundamental rights.

GCHQ’s idea for a so-called ‘ghost protocol’ would be for state intelligence or law enforcement agencies to be invisibly CC’d by service providers into encrypted communications — on what’s billed as targeted, government authorized basis.

If implemented, it will undermine the authentication process, introduce potential unintentional vulnerabilities, and increase risks that communications systems could be abused or misused. Users won’t be able to trust that their communications are secure, thereby posing threats to fundamental human rights, including privacy and free expression.